Ruth Marie Martin, age 92, died March 22, 2019, at the Landings at Laurel Lake in Lee, but Ruth considered herself a Sheffield person.
She was born May 16, 1926, to Manley Martin and Mary Holmes at the family home on Boardman Street in Sheffield. The oldest of four children, Ruth spent her early days exploring Boardman Street with her best friend and cousin Sylvia Holmes. She graduated from Sheffield High School in 1944, voted her class’s most studious. Ruth graduated from the Providence Bible Institute in Rhode Island in 1947. Ruth worked many years for High Fidelity Magazine in Great Barrington as the advertising and marketing manager before retiring in 1988. By working for High Fidelity, Ruth was one of the first people in Sheffield to have cable TV.
Ruth was her own person and she had an adventurous streak. She rode her motorcycle with and was an auxiliary member of the Blue Knights International Law Enforcement Motorcycle Association for more than 25 years. She also earned a small plane pilot’s license. From her early days, Ruth was an excellent yarn crafter, making knitted, crocheted and cross-stitched items, stopping only when her eyesight would no longer allow to pursue her hobby.
She is survived by one sister, Shirley, of Canaan; one brother, John, and wife Lois, nephews Michael, Dale and Anthony, all of Sheffield; and many grandnieces and nephews. She is also survived by first cousins Paul Holmes of Westland, Michigan; Sylvia Holmes Berry of South Portland, Maine; Mildred Martin Cortesi of Weatogue, Connecticut; and Clarence Martin of Sheffield. She was predeceased by her parents and sister Helen.
The family wishes to thank the staff at the Landing at Laurel Lake in Lee and Hospice of Western and Central Massachusetts for lovingly making Ruth’s last days peaceful.
A graveside service will be held at the Corashire Cemetery in Monterey at a later date.
Those who wish may make memorial contributions in memory of Ruth to Hospice of Western and Central Massachusetts or the Blue Knights International Law Enforcement Motorcycle Association c/o FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME, 426 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230, who is caring for the arrangements. To send remembrances to her family please go to www.finnertyandstevens.com
To send remembrances to her family please go to www.finnertyandstevens.com.
